"Every Journey Starts With the First Step"

Sunday, May 20, 2018

I had a lot of reservations about this Aquathlon. Hell, I was not even sure if I was saying 'aquathlon' right ('a qwath a lon'? 'aquacklon'?). Then I reminded myself to shut up and stop worrying. I met a member of the Lido-- his name was Al. I met him previously the day I tested out the wetsuit. I asked if he was participating and he said, "No, I only race myself now." That should be how it always is... for everyone.

So I calmed down. I stretched. I listened to the race brief. I asked questions. I chatted with other participants. I kept telling myself 'This is not the end game. Just enjoy and learn.' To be honest I was itching to get into the water... my wetsuit was a tad bit warm in the lovely London sun (yes it exists!).

Note to self-- if you are jumping in cold water, may be best to ensure the goggles are about the same temperature. Else, the fog up. Well. Now I know :)

The nine lengths went pretty well. The lanes were huge so people didn't have to stress about holding people up behind or getting stuck behind someone.

Such a badass :D

Transition? Ehhh... let's just say practicing dry is NOT the same as when it's wet. Fair. Makes sense. Another lesson learned.

I was not feeling too hot in the beginning of the run. I am not sure if that was the quick (in some sense of the word) transition or maybe I drank too much water in the pool. Whatever it was, I kept it relatively slow in fear of vomiting. The sun was pretty strong at this point, so it was actually quite nice having a wet trisuit on. Oh, and I was rocking some sunnies. Priorities people!

We did three laps around the common. Some of those were along roads but there were volunteers at every corner to ensure no one got lost.

I rolled into the finish and tried to to a bit of a jump at the end. I was feeling pretty good-- huzzah I did an aquathlon! I got my medal and my flapjack. All one really needs at the end of a race.

Heck yeah!

If you are thinking about doing a tri-- or are doing a tri, or just want something different, I recommend this event. It's a great way of getting your body used to swimming in cold water, like an OWS, but without the murky water. It's also great to get your body used to working out when tired.

All that was left to do was tube home (Tooting Bec is about 20 minutes walk away) and soak up the sun. A great way to spend a Saturday.